China–Arab States Cooperation Forum
The China-Arab States Cooperation Forum is a formal dialogue initiative between China and the Arab League.[1]
Summits
The CASCF was established in 2004 by President Hu when he visited the Arab League headquarters in Cairo.[1]
- 2004: 1st meeting in Cairo. Declaration of the China-Arab State Cooperation Forum.
- 2006: 2nd meeting in Beijing. Joint Communiqué on Environmental Protection.
- 2008: 3rd meeting in Manama
- 2010: 4th meeting in Tianjin
- 2012: 5th meeting in Hammamet
- 2014: 6th meeting in Beijing
- 2016: 7th meeting in Doha
- 2018: 8th meeting in Beijing
Special loans
China-Arab states special loans are two special credit lines established by China in announcements in 2016 and 2018 in the amount of US$15 billion and $20 billion respectively. Both announcements were made in speeches given by China's paramount leader Xi Jinping that called for jointly building the Belt and Road Initiative, China's global economic connectivity plan.
2016 special loan
The $15 billion special loan for infrastructure and manufacturing was announced in January 2016 during a visit by President Xi at the Arab League.[2] The loan program in 2016 was announced as part of a larger financial package that had a heavy emphasis on business and investment. In addition to the $15 billion special credit line, US$10 billion of commercial loans and US$10 billion of concessional loans (foreign aid loans) were announced. The launch in December 2015 of the $10 billion UAE-China Joint Investment Fund was also noted.[2]
2018 special loan
During the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum in Beijing in July 2018, President Xi announced the $20 billion special loan for "economic reconstruction."[3]
The 2018 announcement took on a different tone from the one in 2016 with pledges of help for reconstruction of war torn countries. The $20 billion special credit line was paired with a 600 million yuan humanitarian and reconstruction aid for Syria, Yemen, Jordan and Lebanon and a further 1 billion yuan was offered to support "social stability efforts". Also announced in 2018 was a China-Arab Countries Interbank Association with $3 billion in funding from China Development Bank for interbank credits with local banks in the region.[4]
Crude oil
The Arab League have become China's greatest supplier of crude oil, and are China's seventh biggest trading partner. The table below shows the fraction of trade of the partner country that is sent to China, and the rank of China in that country's export tables. For example, China is Sudan's biggest trade partner, and 44% of the export trade of Oman is directed towards China.[1]
| Partner | Fraction | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Sudan | 54% | 1 |
| Oman | 44% | 1 |
| Yemen | 39% | 1 |
| Mauritania | 33% | 1 |
| Iraq | 23% | 1 |
| Saudi Arabia | 15% | 1 |
| Kuwait | 13% | 2 |
| UAE | 7% | 3 |
| Somalia | 4.3% | 3 |
| Libya | 9.6% | 4 |
| Qatar | 6.5% | 4 |
References
- "The China-Arab States Cooperation Forum (CASCF)". BRICS Policy Center.
- "President Xi's Speech at Arab League Headquarters". Xinhua. January 22, 2016.
- "Highlights of Xi's speech at China-Arab forum". China Daily. July 10, 2018.
- Zhou, Laura (July 10, 2018). "China pledges US$23 billion in loans and aid to Arab states as it boosts ties in Middle East". South China Morning Post.
